Patent applications have been filed for various compounds that target a number of factors relating to causative mechanisms in the prevention of atherosclerosis (Patent References 1 to 5).
In addition to novel compounds, numerous methods of preventing/reducing atherosclerosis by consuming natural substances have been proposed, such as the method of orally administering medicinal activated charcoal (Patent Reference 6) and the method of consuming cultures of black yeast as a health supplement (Patent Reference 7).
The collagens are a diverse but related group of molecules. They have various different biochemical and physical properties. However, they share the same triple helix domains comprised of three polypeptide strands referred to as alpha chains. Each alpha chain contains a high ratio of glycine. Glycine is present in a three amino acid sequence that regularly repeats, which can be denoted as Gly-X-Y. Proline is an amino acid that is present relatively frequently at X, and hydroxyproline is an amino acid that is present relatively frequently at Y. In this conformation, glycine and peptide bonds are buried within the molecule, imparting collagen with high resistance to protein degradation.
Fractions of highly purified nonantigenic and low-allergenic tripeptides containing Gly-X-Y sequences, known as collagen tripeptides (CTP), can be prepared by using bacterial collagenase (Patent References 8 and 9) that cleaves the peptide bonds of type I collagen at the amino terminus of glycine (Patent Reference 10).
Studies conducted in recent years suggest that CTP can regulate the production of collagen by upregulating the secretion activity of fibroblasts, and exhibits bioactivity in many organs such as the skin, bone, and cartilage (Nonpatent Reference 1). It also exhibits the effect of reducing pain in joints (Nonpatent Reference 2).
Wound healing agents; ameliorating, healing-promoting, and preventive agents for tendon and ligament injuries and the like; tendon and ligament ameliorating and fortifying agents; ameliorating, healing-promoting, and preventive agents for flexor tendon and ligament injuries and tears in racehorses; ameliorating and fortifying agents for flexor tendons and ligaments in racehorses; functional foods and pharmaceuticals containing such wound healing agents; and the like containing CTP as an active ingredient have been proposed (Patent Reference 11).